High speed reproduction apparatus such as electrostatographic copiers and printers have become extremely versatile as to document input and copy output capabilities, as well as to the image adjustments and modifications that can effected. For example, with automatic accessories such as document handlers, sorters, and staplers, such apparatus can operate in various input-output modes, for example simplex-to-simplex, simplex-to-duplex, duplex-to-simplex and duplex-to-duplex and can deliver very high volume outputs in various forms, e.g., stapled, stacked, in bins etc. The apparatus can be set to vary the document copy images, e.g., as to contrast, density, color, size (enlarge-reduce), location (image placement on the page), screening (for continuous tone originals) image reversal (positive-negative), x-and-y scaling, area or edge erasing etc.
Of course, all the above capabilities involve choices which an operator must make (or defer to a nominal setting). Moreover, the operational parameter setup for a given job can include not only the number of copy sets desired and choices about the above parameters, but selections about different portions of the job. For example, a job level selection can be made to effect every page of the job. A page level selection can be made to effect one or more designated pages within the overall job document. And, area level selections can be made to effect changes, e.g., erase or screening, on only certain portions of a particular page.
It can be appreciated from the foregoing that job setup for high speed reproduction apparatus is complex work that even skilled operators find challenging and time consuming. Since "jobs" often involve the production of many document sets, errors can be fairly costly. To ease this situation, various touch-selection screen display devices, showing mode and feature selection options in sequential displays, have been developed, along with prompting instructions displays that are tailored to casual and/or skilled operators (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,931). Such improvements assist operators significantly; however, the "setup" of a complicated job (e.g., with many special selections) still requires significant time and concentration of a skilled operator. For this reason it is desirable to be able to "save" the set-up work that has been accomplished.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,554 describes a system employing a machine readable job ticket that contains a job number and instructions for parameter selections for that job. The instructions are filed in memory, accessible by the job number code, and the job ticket is kept with the originals to be reproduced. When reproduction is to occur, the originals are delivered to the reproduction apparatus, and the operator accesses system memory via the job number code to gain the stored parameter selections. This system would be useful for minimizing set-up time for subsequent identical jobs, so long as the job ticket was not lost. However, even if the job ticket is available it is not readily identifiable to the system operator as the unique one among many, that was requested for re-run(s). That is, the job number code will access the control system to set the proper parameters of the reproduction apparatus, but the job number very likely will not register in the operators memory as any particular job. For this reason operators create lists of job code numbers with cryptic short file names to jog their memory about the particular job that is connected with the job code. If the job is used infrequently the operator can easily loose recollection of what the short file names relate to, or the file name lists can be lost or outdated. The operator then is confronted with the unpleasant choices of examining all saved jobs to locate the one with the required set-up, or reprogramming the job from scratch.